Wanted
by goalattack
Summary: When a ghost from the past reappears in the lives of the tactical response team the future must be re-examined.
1. Chapter 1

**Wanted**

Authors Note: This fanfiction is based post season 3 of Rush but before season 4 begins. The TR unit is staffed as it is at the end of season 3 however for creative purposes Tash has never entered the equation. My apologies if this is a little rough around the edges; it's been a while.. so any feedback is appreciated.

There was a crash from table 9 as the waitress stumbled and dropped the tray full of the TR crews drinks, Lawson's coke splashing all over the bewildered elderly man sitting in front of her as the waitress didn't hesitate to turn around mortified and rush back towards the kitchen without so much an apology.

It was only as the last bit of her long chestnut hair whipped over her shoulders that Lawson realised her recognised her face. He went to speak before thinking better of it and closed his mouth again.

* * *

><p>Their drinks reappeared a few moments later, a younger bubbly blonde waitress holding them this time passing them around. Josh smiled and thanked her before turning back to the conversation about the targets that were expected to arrive into town the following day.<p>

"Lawson. You right?" Josh enquired when he didn't get a response from his query.

"Yeah yeah. Just got to take a leak. I'll be back in a minute." Excusing himself from the conversation Lawson stood up and wandered back towards the kitchen where the toilet door was located. Touching the arm of the blonde waitress briefly he got her attention and she turned to him.

"That waitress, the one that dropped the tray. Is she alright?"  
>"Yeah she's fine. Probably out the back getting heckled by chef" the young girl laughed. "She gives him hell if he messes up one of her orders so they'd be having a field day with her crash."<br>Lawson laughed with her in response, waiting for the girl to take the coffees sitting in front of her out to the tables before stepping past the counter and into the kitchen.

"Oi! You're not supposed to be in here" the Chef looked up in surprise not expecting to see anyone other than his wait staff in the back of house area.  
>"Sorry mate, I was looking for your bathrooms?" Lawson queried.<br>"Other door." The chef informed him. "But since you're halfway through just nick out the back door, then it's first on your left."  
>Lawson nodded his thanks and headed out the backdoor spotting the waitress standing outside leaning against the wall in the courtyard a bottle of water in hand and her head down focusing on the weeds in between the pavers. He let out a breath before walking over to her.<p>

"Grace?"

* * *

><p>The brunette looked up slowly, hesitating before looking up at Lawson, avoiding all eye contact.<p>

"It's Anna." Was all she said.

Lawson looked her up and down in a brief cursory look. The young woman standing in front of him was definitely Grace Barry. Yes she had aged a couple of years and her hair colour may have changed but her height, her body structure and most of all her face was still the same as the young senior constable he had once worked alongside with although her eyes lacked the sparkle that had once radiated from them. Confident that he was not mistaken in her identity he pressed forward.

"Alright…Anna. I'm Lawson, nice to meet you" he replied putting his hand out to shake hers.

Anna shook her head quickly. "You can't be out here. It's staff only!" she replied quietly, clearly distressed by the meeting. She lowered her voice so that it was whisper soft. "Lawson, don't. Please just.. go away. You can't be here. You have to go. Now."  
>The younger woman in front of him was quickly working herself up into a panic and Lawson reaching out to touch her upper arm. Anna pushed him away as quickly as he moved, taking a step to the side before pivoting, instinctively moving so that she was no longer between Lawson and the wall, at the same time looking around for an escape.<p>

"Grace..Anna… just stop for a minute. What's going on? What are you doing here? What.." he trailed off as she spoke.  
>"Lawson you haven't seen me OK." For the first time acknowledging that she was the person Lawson was referring too. "…Did anyone else?" she asked, obviously worried.<br>"No… Just me. You moved pretty quickly. What's going on?"  
>She let out a breath. "Grace is dead Lawson. Please…just go. I can't tell you anything more and you can't tell anyone you've seen me. Please. It's important."<br>Lawson nodded at her request, his brain finally starting to catch up with the scene that his eyes and mouth were playing out in front of him. "I get it. Mum's the word."  
>"Lawson?" she added, waiting until he nodded. "That means Josh too... He can't know." She finally met his eyes, her once lively brown eyes now hidden behind green contact lenses, but even the lenses couldn't hide the emotion in them. "Promise me.."<br>He hesitated before nodding his agreement. "I won't tell him…and if you give me 15 I'll clear us out of here." He offered.  
>Anna smiled her gratitude "Thank you."<br>Lawson nodded again before pulling her into a hug, Anna tensing initially but allowing herself a brief moment of comfort. "You take care," he whispered before letting her go, she nodded into his embrace before pulling back slowly."  
>"It was nice to meet you Lawson." Anna pushing her wall straight back up and quickly dismissing any evidence that she recognised and knew the man in front of her from her face before ducking back into the kitchen, locking the door behind her.<p> 


	2. Chapter 2

As soon as Anna had locked the door to her small 2-bedroom weatherboard that night she walked over to her fridge and opened the door with a sigh standing in front of it and staring at its contents.  
>As one of Victoria's finest she had become accustomed to looking over her shoulder and being constantly on alert but always with backup, with a radio, a lapel cam or colleagues that she trusted. Witness Protection meant that she was now on her own.<br>It had been 3 years now, 3 years in which Anna had gone from Grace Barry, a married young police officer in an elite city unit with her whole life ahead of her to Anna Travers, a waitress in a small country town of Cohuna, just off the Victorian and New South Wales border. Cohuna had a population of just under 2000 people and after living there for almost a year Anna had finally started to let her guard down and think of the town as home and had even started to slowly replace the furniture to match her tastes in the safe house she resided in.  
>"<em>Until this afternoon"<em> she thought, grabbing a bottle of red out of the fridge and pouring herself a large glass of the poison of her choice. Replacing the bottle in the fridge she moved to sit on her newly acquired lounge, sitting on her feet and absentmindedly twisting the base of the glass between her fingers. Seeing her old colleagues in her café that afternoon had thrown her and she set the glass down on the coffee table jumping up again to double check she had locked the door properly. Satisfied, she returned to the lounge pulling her knees to her chest and taking a couple of deep breaths until she was satisfied that she was competent enough to hold the glass of wine again.  
>Anna had no idea why her former colleagues were in the small town she had begun to think of as home and now she had a whole new list of worries to add to her already large list of anxieties. What on earth could be happening in Cohuna that required the services of the elite tactical response unit and if it was so easy for Lawson Blake to stumble across her, how good was the protection of her new identity in the first place?<p>

Giving up on getting any answers that night Anna stood up, taking her glass of wine with her and headed for the bathroom to rinse off the day.

* * *

><p><strong>2 days later.<strong>

Sergeant Brendan Joshua, 'Josh' to his friends and even some of his foes bashed on the door of Lawson's room in the pub they were staying in. "Mate we're going for a drink. You coming?"  
>Before he had even finished his sentence Lawson had opened the door and was already on his way out. "Sounds good. You're shout right?" Josh rolled his eyes and walked downstairs with him.<br>"Pretty sure the first 2 rounds are on Muppet after this morning's balls-up" Josh laughed as they reached the table where Constable Michael Sandrelli sat.  
>"Yeah because it was completely my fault!" he protested as the two joined him. "Oi!" as Lawson pinched his wallet from his back pocket.<br>Josh laughed and just shrugged. "Should be more careful where you store it. Someone might steal it for real next time" he took a seat beside him as Lawson disappeared to the bar to buy the first round with Michael's money. "This place is busy for a little hickey pub," he observed looking around him. "Doesn't look too bad."  
>"Yeah it's fine if you don't mind old men, darts, bar fights and ugly chicks!" Michael protested, taking the beer from Lawson as he returned. "To civilisation!" he raised his glass as Lawson sat down rolling his eyes at Josh.<p>

The boys were onto only their third beer when there was a screeching of brakes outside the pub followed by a loud crash as a car spun head first into a concrete pylon out the front of the pub the horn sounding immediately. One of the older patrons of the pub laughed a little as he looked out of the window he was closest too. "Bloody woman drivers!" getting a laugh from a few of the patrons as Josh, Michael & Lawson went outside to investigate.  
>Josh reached the driver of the vehicle first, seeing that they were slumped over the front wheel. Josh reefed the driver's door open, putting his hand on the drivers shoulder slowly and carefully pulling the driver back off the wheel so that she was resting back against the car seat. The woman's messy brown hair stuck to the bloodied cut across her temple and covered the side of her face and she didn't stir as she was sat back. As he reached over her shoulder to feel for a pulse she let out a moan flickering her eyes open and blinking a couple of times, stunned by her surroundings and trying to get her bearings.<br>"It's ok. You've been in an accident. The ambulance is on it's way" Josh reassured her, his voice sparking a recognition in the young woman's eyes, brushing her hair off her face, causing the blood to flow more heavily from the fresh wound.  
>"Josh?" she murmured hazily turning to face the voice in a daze.<p>

* * *

><p>Josh spun his head as he heard the one voice that he never thought he would hear again. On autopilot he crouched on the road beside the car brushing the hair that clung to the blood away from her face, putting pressure on the wound and without even thinking of it taking her hand with his free hand.<br>"You're gonna be ok." he whispered to her sitting with her in silence until the ambulance arrived keeping a firm hold of her hand.

Josh was reluctantly forced to step aside when the ambulance pulled up, the two ambos quickly occupying the space he'd taken only seconds earlier. Moving his hands up to his forehead Josh didn't care that he now had blood in his hair as well as his arms and torso. He headed back towards the entry of the pub and sat in the gutter, head in his hands.  
>Michael wandered over to him, not having been close enough to identify the driver as anything more than 'the victim'. "How is she?" he enquired, fearing the worst at the grey tinge that had taken over Josh's face.<br>"….She's alive" he replied softly looking up at Michael stunned.  
>"That's good. Did the ambos say much?"<br>"No." he paused. "She's alive Michael…. Grace… she's alive."  
>"Josh…mate. Grace is dead." Michael looked uncomfortable looking around for Lawson not used to Josh being anything but totally together and in control. Josh went to argue and just shook his head, getting up as he saw Lawson coming over.<br>"Lawson..it's Grace..the driver. She spoke to me..she knew who I was " a stunned Josh could hardly form a sentence, completely overwhelmed with the concept that Grace Barry may not have died following the explosion at the protest 3 years back. Much to Michaels surprise Lawson just nodded at Josh and went over to the ambos with him.

As soon as Grace was clear of the car Josh was back at her side taking her hand again. "You're alright" he reassured her.  
>One of the ambos turned around to Josh. "Do you know her? We didn't get a name?"<br>Without hesitation Josh nodded. "Yeah she's Gra..," he informed them trailing off as Grace mumbled again shaking her head, her fingers stretching out so she held on tighter to Josh's hand.  
>"No" she protested frantically as Lawson walked over to them.<br>"Anna." He informed the officers holding up her wallet. "Anna Travers."

* * *

><p>As the ambulance drove off Josh stood back looking from the car to the pub to the blood on his hands, standing there looking down in a daze until Lawson approached him.<br>"You knew!" he accused, looking up at him, his eyes suddenly ablaze with anger. "You knew about this. You knew she wasn't dead and you let me think she was!" he yelled.  
>Lawson shook his head. "Mate, It's not like that.. "<br>"You KNEW Lawson. And you didn't tell me!"  
>"Josh you need to keep your voice down." Lawson warned. "You need to shut your mouth and think about why you shouldn't be yelling this out and what it could mean for Anna if you continue."<br>Josh was still glaring at him. "If I loose her again.." he warned. "You let me believe she was dead!" he repeated in disbelief before walking back into the pub.  
>Michael turned to Lawson as he shook his head. "So that really was Grace?"<br>"Grace IS dead Michael. The lady in that car was Anna Travers."  
>"But she was Grace, right?"<br>Michael didn't need to hear the answer. Lawson's look confirmed it all


	3. Chapter 3

After a few hours of being poked, scanned and prodded Anna was cleared of any major injuries and moved up onto a ward for observation overnight. It took another hour until the visitor she knew would be on their way knocked on the open door frame. She looked up at him, terrified of what the fact that someone from her past managed to stumble across her so easily could mean for her safety, but at the same time incredibly glad to see the face of one of the few people on the planet she still felt she could completely trust.

"Josh" was all she could manage to squeak out. Hearing herself speak his name alone made her uneasy. Her head told her to get him out of the room and her life as quickly as possible but her heart desperately wanted him to stay at her side. As he got closer she could see what the evening's events had done to him. Primarily Anna could see an incredible amount of hurt. In 3 years Josh had aged significantly. The creases in his brow were more defined and his face had hardened. She knew her sudden departure from his life would have crushed the man in front of her. She knew that it took a lot of willpower for Josh to let someone into his life and for them to be so cruelly taken away from him would have shut him down again. _One step forward, two steps back_, she thought sadly. As he reached her bedside she could see the anger at being kept in the dark emerging, the subtle shaking of his muscles tensing giving it away before he even spoke. As if on autopilot Anna opened her mouth to speak again. "Josh I'm sorry.." she apologised quickly. "I didn't.." she started before he cut her off, an exhausted mess of raging emotions.

"Goddammit Grace you could have told me!" He yelled, suddenly picking up the glass that rested beside her bed and throwing it at the wall with force.

The woman in the bed in front of him jumped involuntarily, the action unsettling her and she looked around her quickly already calculating the quickest escape to the door on the other side of the room, reaching over searching for what she knew must be down the side of the mattress.

Grace Barry had been used to Josh losing his temper, she knew the signs and had had many feisty confrontations with him as they worked alongside each other but she had never actually been on the receiving end of one of his outbursts. In the past she would have seen the early warning signs and would have been able to calm him down but Anna Travers was a different woman to Grace Barry. In 3 years Anna had held 3 different identities and had upheaved her life the same number of times. On the surface Anna Travers was tough and fiercely independent. She'd trained herself to believe this too. She didn't need anybody in her life; they were a threat and she had learnt that she was far better on her own, trusting herself and her instincts above anything or anyone else. Truth be known she was an anxious mess. 3 years of living on the edge and looking over her shoulder at every given moment had chipped away at Anna and she had lost the fight or flight instinct she once had as a member of the Victorian Police. Now she found herself opting for the surrender option as one of her first, doubting whether she'd have the strength or the energy to fight for her life yet again.

Shaking, Anna let out a soft whimper finally looking up to meet Josh's eyes before pressing the call button twice quickly.

The anger Josh showed had disappeared spontaneously with the impact the glass made with the wall, his heart breaking all over again as the petite woman in the bed in front of him jumped, her face draining white with fear, fear which he'd instigated. Calming immediately he put his hands up.  
>"Grace…Gracie I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you…I wouldn't hurt you…You know that. You're safe here." He reassured her, moving closer to her bed. Anna drew her knees up to her chest. "Grace it's ok" he tried desperately, his face falling.<p>

"It's Anna now." She protested weakly. "I'm ok… Please… You need to leave Josh." She put her hand to her temple, which was now home to a thin white bandage, the colour of which looked dark in comparison to the drawn face it resided on. Josh nodded in defeat, not wanting to shake her up any more than he already had, the nurse responding to Anna's call just as he moved away from the bed.  
>"Is everything alright in here Miss Travers? Can I get you something?"<br>Anna finally looked away from Josh and nodded "Yeah…Could I get some more water please?" she asked, her voice cracked, waiting for the nurse to leave before speaking again to Josh meeting his eyes again.  
>"I'm sorry…" She whispered, trailing off and leaving the rest of her sentence unspoken, watching him as he left the room before resting her head on her knees and letting the tears flow.<p>

Josh waited until he got outside before allowing himself to lose control again, slamming the door to his car loudly letting out a loud expletive. Josh was intelligent enough to figure that there was some sort of Witness Protection program in place. Now he knew he'd probably never see her again. He'd scared her and lost any hope he had of seeing her again. He had seen the fear in her eyes at his outburst and he had terrified her. He punched the steering wheel wincing at the point of impact but the pain of it not even registering on top of the pain he felt at hurting the one person that meant the world to him. Josh knew that he'd always been the one person Grace turned to when she didn't feel safe. Josh knew the young woman in the bed must have gone through hell over the past few years and he had just scared her once again. Brendan Joshua couldn't forgive himself for that.

* * *

><p>At around midnight, Josh got a tap on his shoulder by the barman. "Mate, we're closing up in a minute," he informed him quietly. Josh looked up, looking around to discover that the previously full bar was now empty except for him and two staff members. Downing the last of his beer he nodded, putting a $50 on the bar to cover his tab and walking up the stairs towards the small pub rooms that him, Lawson &amp; Michael were staying in during their operation. Exhausted but fully aware that he would not be able to sleep Josh opened the door to the small balcony, going outside for some fresh air, letting out a frustrated groan. He was only out there for a few moments when the door to Lawson's room opened and he stepped out into the cold, his South's jersey almost hidden under the thick police issue jacket he wore. Josh turned to him after 5 minutes of silence.<br>"What happened? Is she safe here?" he asked quietly, his concern for Grace's wellbeing having sky rocketed now that he had begun to process that she was not just alive but in hiding…from something.  
>"I honestly don't know. I've only known for maybe 48 hours," the sergeant admitted. "This wasn't something I was privy to either Josh. I saw her in the café the other day; she was the waitress who dropped the drinks."<br>Josh shook his head. "You should have told me then."  
>"She begged me not to."<br>"So?"  
>"She was scared."<br>"Yeah well I didn't help fix that. She's terrified of me now." He looked away, still ashamed of his outburst. "I just can't work out why she didn't come to me…" looking straight ahead out over the now silent town thinking out loud to one of the few people Josh trusted. "If she was scared or in trouble, why didn't she tell me?" Josh queried. "I woulda looked after her."  
>"I don't know mate," Lawson said gently just as in the dark as the man beside him.<br>"So what do we do?"  
>"You leave it."<br>"I can't."  
>"You have to." Lawson told him with finality.<br>Josh didn't respond turning to give him one last disapproving look before going into his room for the night.

* * *

><p>After a long night of staring at the roof Josh was the first one out of bed, arriving at the hospital by 7am going straight to Anna's room. Finding the room empty Josh wasn't surprised but went to talk to the ward clerk to confirm what deep down he already knew.<br>"I was looking for Anna Travers?" he asked.  
>The young lady in front of him shook her head. "I'm sorry, she discharged herself last night." She informed him politely.<br>"Did you have an address?" he tried, grasping at straws.  
>The girl smiled and looked it up on the master index, looking confused before tapping the keyboard a couple of times. "I'm sorry sir, I can't seem to access that information."<p> 


	4. Chapter 4

**The Following Day**

The TR Boys had been in town for 4 days now and their targets were dead quiet. With Leon's insistence that they were still in town the boys had had a relatively easy couple of days. Whilst Michael relished the chance to sit in the pub all day and flirt with the barmaid, Josh was steadily driving himself crazy while he tried to track down Anna who had seemingly dropped off the face of the earth. He had gone back to the café where Lawson had first spotted her and had sought an address from their chef, which after investigation had turned out to be a house owned by an elderly couple who were somewhat shocked to have an officer on their doorstep and didn't know of anyone matching Anna's description.  
>By noon the following day Lawson knew it was time to intervene, knowing he wouldn't be popular for doing so. "Josh, you need to let this go. She doesn't want to be found."<br>"Or she's lying dead in a safe house somewhere because she discharged herself from hospital with a head injury!" he protested. Lawson nodded as he remembered what had 'killed' Grace in the first place.  
>"Josh…I know you're worried but she can look after herself. Maybe it's for the best."<br>"For the best? You tell me how any of this for the best Lawson?" he snapped.  
>"I'm not saying that it's ideal, I'm just saying, the more you sniff around and ask questions the more likely her cover is to be blown." Lawson tried to reason, being interrupted when Josh's phone went off with a message.<br>Josh taking one look and walking away from Lawson. "I'll be back later" seemingly ignoring Lawson's last sentence as he reread the message on the screen in front of him.

'_72 Prince St. Use the back entrance. A.'_

* * *

><p>It only took Josh 20minutes to drive out to the small weatherboard off one of the roads out of town. He pulled up 50m from the house and walked back down the street towards it looking at its surroundings. The house desperately needed a lick of paint and the old loveseat out the front had gathered cobwebs from a lack of use. The veranda hadn't been swept and had the same build-up of dirt that covered the drive-way, the lawn and garden were overgrown and generally unkempt.<p>

Remembering the second half of the message when he reached the front door Josh changed paths and went back down the stairs and around to the back of the house which completely contrasted the front yard. The lawns here were neatly manicured and the garden full of blossoming flowers with what looked like a small vegetable garden in the far right corner. Shaking his head to focus on the job at hand he moved to the back door before knocking on it twice.

30 seconds later the door opened cautiously, the relief on Anna's face evident the moment she realised that it was Josh and no one else on her doorstep. "Come in" she invited, taking a step to the side to let him progress, locking the door behind him, putting the safety back on the pistol she'd been hiding in her right hand as she walked down the hallway in front of him. "Did you want a drink? The jugs on."  
>"Yeah..thanks.." he responded slightly overwhelmed. Inside the house was clean and tidy but had a musty scent to it. Anna was definitely a minimalist; there was a newish looking couch with a small television set on an old table. The dining table looked almost antique but Josh suspected it was just a second hand one knowing the budget of the Victorian government was notoriously stingy, and the kitchen was in semi darkness, a light globe blown that the owner hadn't got around to replacing. Anna didn't seem too bothered by this and quickly made them each a coffee bringing them out and setting them on the coffee table. Josh nodded his thanks before taking a seat on the couch beside her.<p>

"I didn't know if you'd come." She said quietly.  
>"Why's that?"<br>"After everything…after the other day…"  
>He nodded at her reasoning. "I had to know you were ok," he explained. "Are you?"<br>Anna avoided the question like a seasoned professional. "Josh, you know what's going on here, right?"  
>"Protection, I take it?"<br>She nodded. "Yeah. You can't keep looking for me and asking questions. You're going to get me killed." She told him quietly her voice shaking. "I'm sorry. I wish I could explain."  
>"You don't trust me?"<br>"Of course I do, I just.. I don't trust you not to do something stupid... I won't let you get involved Josh."  
>"Gracie.." he protested.<br>She reached out for him taking his hand, squeezing it softly. "It's not Grace anymore." She whispered, "I know it's hard but it's really that important."  
>He held her hand firmly reaching forward to tuck some hair that had fallen down over her wound behind her ear. The white bandage that had been in place at the hospital had now been replaced with a small wound dressing and some tape. "How's your head?"<br>"It's not too bad. Just a bit of a headache."  
>Josh tensed at the all too familiar words. "You should see a doctor."<br>She shook her head "I'm fine Josh. Honestly." It took him a moment more of just staring at her before he nodded.  
>"Ok." His fingers lingering on her cheek.<br>"Josh.." she gasped softly not used to another's touch, let alone his. "Don't.." she warned. "Don't make this any harder.." she took a deep breath "I'm leaving town tonight."  
>"What.." Josh was surprised, unable to hide the disappointment from his eyes. "You don't have to do that Gr..Anna. It's only us that know. We're not going to say anything. You don't have to relocate. It's not a breech."<br>"I have to" she whispered, reaching for his other hand taking it tightly in her own. "I'll be OK."  
>"How will I find you? Grace you need to stay here. I can visit you. No one would ever know."<br>"You don't get it do you?" she cried frustrated, tears welling up in her eyes. "You're not supposed to be able to find me. You're not supposed to know I'm alive. And you're not allowed to look for me Josh! They'll get at me through you if they think that they can. I can't live worrying about you as well. You need to forget about me…if witness knew I'd even made contact with you tonight I'd be in so much trouble."  
>"So don't tell 'em. Let me come with you. I'll go into witness with you. We'll get married or something."<br>"No." she shook her head. "Josh you're not leaving your life for this. I won't let you."  
>"Then stay here. I won't come near you. I won't make any contact. But at least it gives me a name to check on Births, Deaths and Marriages to know that you're safe. Just..let me know you're going to be ok "<br>Anna shook her head in defeat, "There's more to it." She finally added.  
>"Like what?"<br>She sighed before continuing. "I didn't crash two nights ago. I was run off the road."  
>"What? Why didn't you say anything? You should have told me. I would have tracked them down by now!"<br>She shook her head. "I don't want you involved. But my covers blown. I have to go. I'll find a way to let you know I'm OK. I promise."  
>"You're not going alone." He insisted. "If you're in trouble I'm not letting you go alone."<br>"It's not up for discussion Josh. " she cringed. "Please..I have an hour or so before I need to grab some things, if you're going to stay please don't make it harder"  
>Josh grunted his response but stopped pushing the issue.<br>"Why are you here anyway?" Anna enquired after a few more moments. "TR in Cohuna seems a little over the top for a town where nothing happens." She laughed softly.  
>"Drug shipment apparently. The Emery's' are at it again. Brett and Chris this time." He laughed. "They breed faster than rabbits that family."<br>At the mention of the Emery family the blood flowed from Anna's face, unable to hide the terror that she felt at the name. Josh picked up on it straight away reaching out to pull her closer to him, Anna tensing and pushing him away as though shocked by his touch.  
>"It's them isn't it?" Josh slowly put the pieces of the puzzle together. "That's why you left…why you're here…"<br>Anna nodded quickly. "Promise me." She whispered.  
>"Promise you what Gracie?"<br>An upset Anna let that one slip. "You won't go after them… Josh, this changes everything… If they know you're in town they'll know you know I'm here.. They'll be after you as well." Anna rambled. "The other night..was anyone hanging around? Did you see anyone?"  
>"I dunno. I was distracted by the fact you were alive?"<br>"Think Josh. If they were then they know you're in town. You need to watch your back." Still white she reached for his hands. "Please be careful."  
>"Grace stop it. I'm not worried about me. Look at you; you're a mess. I'm worried about you."<br>She let out a soft whimper. "I'm scared Josh. I don't know if I can do this again."  
>In 3 years Anna Travers hadn't once stopped looking over her shoulder and the charmed life of Grace Barry had become a distant memory. It had to, to enable her to survive. With a forth relocation imminent Anna wasn't sure how much fight was left in her. With each previous relocation she had become more and more reclusive, too scared to venture out into her front yard, terrified that someone would recognise her as they drove past, and taking 40minutes to drive home from work; what would only be a 10minute trip if she wasn't paranoid that every car that drove past was potentially trailing her. Anna Travers didn't relate to people in the same way Grace Barry had done. She was too afraid to; Terrified that contact with the wrong person could lead to another upheaval and a whole new life all over again. So she put up her defences; and now that the one man who had always been able to penetrate these was sitting in front of her, offering her a break, Anna was in an emotional turmoil.<br>Josh looked hesitant, before moving closer to her and wrapping his arms around her tightly. Anna let out a sob her arms reaching around him, holding him equally tight.  
>"I can't do this anymore Josh. I can't keep running…I want to stay with you…with TR until I know they're out of town, then I'll move…Please?"<p> 


	5. Chapter 5

As she sobbed an overawed Josh held the brunette tighter in his arms. "You're safe with me Gracie. No one's going to hurt you this time, you're coming with us."  
>He held her tightly until she calmed herself down, distracting herself by focusing on the strong steady heartbeat of the man holding her.<br>"I'm ok," she finally announced, sitting back into the lounge a little. "I'm sorry. I'm a bit precious these days" she forced a smile.  
>He forced a smile back, still keeping an arm around her loosely. "Come back to the pub with us. No one's gonna hurt you with 3 cops around. We'll work out what to do next from there."<br>She nodded slowly. "Just...let me grab a few things." Pulling herself up slowly Anna went back into the bedroom returning a few moments later with an overnight bag.  
>"Is that all?"<br>"Has to be" she shrugged. "Just got some papers…It's OK Josh." She reassured, seeing him look around at all the items in the house she was leaving behind. "They're just things" she walked back over to him. "Let's go."

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><p>Walking into the pub with Josh, Anna quickly spoke to the owner organising a room for the night. Going upstairs and tossing the bag on the bed she turned back to Josh worried. "Are you sure this is a good idea? What if I'm seen?"<br>"No one's gonna get near 'ya while you're with me." He promised her. "I'll grab Lawson, we'll go downstairs and have a couple of drinks…you do still drink right?" he checked, raising an eyebrow.  
>"Like a fish" she reassured him with a grin.<br>"Then we'll grab Lawson and head back down there. They've got to be doing well to try anything Gr..Anna…it's the middle of the afternoon and I can be pretty scary.."  
>She nodded in defeat following him to Lawson's room. "Ok, Ok."<br>Despite her protests, and the danger she knew was imminent, Anna Travers felt safer at that moment than she had done in 3 years.

"Anna!" Lawson smiled as he opened the door. "I didn't think I'd see you again."  
>Anna smiled in return, relieved that she didn't get the frosty reception that she'd feared. "Hey Lawson. I hope you don't mind. Josh said it would be alright…"<br>"She's staying with TR for a few days until a couple of things blow over." Josh informed him, not leaving room for any arguments.  
>Lawson nodded "It's fine."<br>"We're going down for a drink, did you want to come?" Anna invited him down; he nodded following them back downstairs.

Going straight to the bar while they found a table Anna purchased the first round, delivering them to her former colleagues suddenly not too sure what to talk about and feeling a little uncomfortable. It had been 3 years and a lot had happened, however she wasn't permitted to talk about most of hers and she felt a bit funny asking about the job she had once loved "So…how have you been?" she asked Lawson nervously, sipping her beer unsure of how her casual tone would be taken by the two men who had, until recently, believed she was dead.  
>By the end of her first drink Anna's nerves had disappeared, realising as the conversation flowed easily, that she wasn't going to get asked any awkward questions that she knew she couldn't answer. When Michael walked in after their second drink she even waved him over.<br>"Sandrelli" she waved. "Come have a beer!"  
>"Gra.." he went to greet her, getting cut off by a very protective Josh.<br>"Anna" Josh corrected loudly over the top of him.  
>"Anna" Michael repeated pulling up a chair between her and Josh, Anna doing well to hide the panic in her face at the thought of losing the direct protection from him, instead subtly shifting her chair so she was closer to Lawson, the other person in the room that she trusted with her life, as the young constable made small talk with her.<br>Josh watched closely, waiting until Michael got up to buy a round before slipping back into the seat beside her, resting his hand on her knee and giving it a squeeze. She shivered slightly as his touch but smiled her thanks, unsure whether he'd understood that she wanted him close by or whether like in the past, he just didn't like someone else in the space between him and her.  
>"You cold?" he checked, already taking off the hoodie he was wearing, realising that she only had a t-shirt on as the temperature started to drop around them.<br>"I'm alright." She protested. "Thanks" she added with a laugh as it was draped around her shoulders, pulling it on properly. "Much better." She smiled hoping that he'd understand that she wasn't just talking about his jacket, taking her drink off Michael happily as he returned.

"Alright you lot. I'm heading to bed." Lawson announced a few hours later after a few more drinks and a hearty feed of pub grub.  
>After Michael and Lawson had both left Anna turned back to Josh. "I'm gonna head up too." She informed him with a yawn. "If I drink anymore I'm either going to fall asleep or start saying things that'll get me into trouble" she smiled.<br>"Come to my room for a while?" he offered, reaching for her hand.  
>Josh hadn't let Anna out of his sight all night and had kept some form of contact with her as much as possible, terrified that if he blinked or let her go that she would disappear on him again or that he'd wake up and her being alive would just be a dream. He'd already lost the woman in front of him once. This time he'd promised to protect her and the only way Brendan Joshua knew how was to keep the young woman impossibly close to his side.<br>"Ok…We're not…just so you know." She informed him, letting him know that she wasn't prepared to sleep with him, afraid that any connection would make it twice as hard for her to leave him again in a few days' time.  
>"That's not what I meant"<br>"Then I don't know whether to be shocked, relieved or offended" she added with an almost cheeky smile. He laughed, following her up the old flight of stairs to the rooms.

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><p>Sitting down on the side of his unmade bed she gave him a look of thanks, still wearing his jacket from before but pulling it tighter around her in the chilliness of the room. "You're not getting this back you realise?" she smiled a little. He laughed softly relieved that the girl he'd once known hadn't completely disappeared; the blonde officer he remembered also had a habit of pinching his jacket on the job if hers was left at base and had quickly developed the same habit of wearing his shirts over her underwear around his house the morning after an evening together. Josh smiling as he remembered that he never did tell her how incredibly sexy he thought the look was.<br>"That's fine. You can keep it."  
>She reached out for one of the pillows, propping her elbow up on it so she was facing him as he sat on the other side of the bed, both her feet still subconsciously pointing towards the door in case she needed to make a quick getaway. Josh couldn't help but notice this reaching out to touch her arm softly.<br>"Gracie, I want you to stay here tonight. I don't want you staying in the other room, not on your own. I wanna keep an eye on ya. I want you to get some proper rest."  
>Anna looked hesitant, weighing up her options, not happy that he felt that he had to keep an eye on her but pure exhaustion making the gesture more appealing than it normally would. The past few months as she'd finally started to settle into Cohuna she had been sleeping better however she had barely slept a wink since the car accident a few nights earlier. She nodded at him as she accepted the space beside him in the bed. "Thanks." She reached out for his hand taking it in hers. "You have to stop calling me that Josh." She instructed him again softly.<br>"I have in public. But right now it's just us Grace. It's who you are and I don't want you to forget it…not when it's just us."  
>"I know." She whispered sadly. "But I have to forget it. Josh I don't even know who Grace is anymore. I've had 3 years, 3 years to train myself to answer to different names. To not introduce myself as Grace. I can't…what if I slip up? If you slip up?"<br>"I won't." he promised her. "And you won't either. It's too important. I won't put you in any danger Grace."  
>"No…. ok." She agreed. "Just…be careful. I'm putting you in danger just by being here… I hate this Josh" She looked down, having second thoughts about her decision to associate with the TR team, even for a couple of days, not wanting to put any of them in any more danger.<br>"I don't care about me." He protested without hesitation.  
>"Maybe not but I do. Josh..I meant what I said this afternoon. Once the immediate threat is over; I have to disappear again. Alone." Emphasising the last word almost harshly.<br>Josh shrugged rubbing his thumb over the back of her hand choosing not to argue the point. "What happened Gracie? Why?" he finally asked quietly.


	6. Chapter 6

Good Evening,

Well it's Rush night tonight so I'm posting another chapter.  
>I'm sorry for the splits; I know this is a bit slow but I never actually meant to post this as chapters but instead as a complete story however I am still messing with a few bits and pieces towards the end that I'm not happy with so I figure it's best to post something rather than nothing (plus posting might actually give me the motivation to fix those dodgy bits up).<br>Happy Reading!

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><p>She cringed knowing she couldn't put it off any longer, squeezing his hand gently. "It wasn't planned Josh. I didn't plan on leaving Melbourne and I didn't hide it from you I promise. I didn't know myself.." she tried to explain quickly feeling herself getting worked up.<br>He didn't say anything else, just reached over and put a hand on her hip, coaxing her gently onto the bed. She shook her head, getting up completely and walking to check the lock on the door and the window before climbing onto the bed and onto her side so she was facing him, unable to hide the fear or the tension from her face at the thought of sharing the events leading up to the death of Grace Barry.  
>"I never told you this but I did an undercover stint for the drug squad when I was fresh out of the academy. I was young, blonde, eager and best of all I came with the advantage of a psych degree. It was only a short gig but I went in and got introduced to a few of the Emery boys amongst others. Brett, he was a bit of a flirt so I used it to my advantage and ended up as a bit of a handbag. It didn't take long before I was going to all the family barbeques and getting in on some of the buys they were doing."<br>She let out a breath looking up at Josh to try and gauge his reaction thus far. His face wasn't giving anything away, his eyes locked onto her and waiting for her to continue.  
>"After a couple of months they had enough on them so we busted them but someone stuffed up and I was young, stupid and didn't realise that it was the wrong thing to do and I ended up testifying in court as Grace Reid. I didn't realise it should have been under my cover name and nobody picked up on it until it was too late so then they knew I wasn't who I said I was... it didn't take much to work out I was a cop."<br>She paused again recognising the early signs of Josh getting worked up. Anna watched him twitch as Josh tried desperately to compose himself, not wanting to scare her again and definitely not wanting her to stop but feeling his blood boil at the idea of such a major stuff up in the undercover program.  
>"Anyway all the boys plus Raelene got charges against them, two of the older boys got some time so they weren't very happy. I got a few threats and that at the station but I married Conor a few months later and became a Barry and moved in with him. A few months after that I transferred into TR so the threat died off." She summed up. Josh shifted his own position on the bed, obviously tensing at the history to his colleague that he'd had no idea about up until that moment.<br>"It wasn't until we caught Chris Emery that day in that armed rob that I think I sprung up on their radar again."  
>"You should have told me you knew them right away…" he spoke emotionless, annoyed at the fact he'd discounted the encounter as something significantly less malicious than it obviously was.<br>"Probably… but you saw how they reacted around me, it was cold and bitter but nothing really happened then and I wasn't worried. And I was right. Nothing happened. Not until Brett got out of prison the following year. Then I started getting mail and then my car…. "  
>She trailed off again as both their thoughts travelled back to the morning at Josh's place while Conor had been in Bendigo for work. It had been the first time she'd stayed over at Josh's, the first time they had actually slept together and it had been a wonderful night and was quickly turning into a wonderful morning when they'd been interrupted by her car exploding. For Josh the night had been even more significant. He'd lived in his unit for 2 years and it was the first time he had woken up with a warm body beside him. Afraid of commitment or fallout, Josh had a habit of going back to a woman's house and leaving post coitus or asking her to leave if they had ended up at his place. In fact 3 years on and Grace Barry still remained the only woman ever to have lasted a full night in his bed.<br>"They must have followed me to your place. That was the first time I really got worried but even then...I hadn't been approached directly and I hadn't been harmed. I thought they were just trying to shake me up a bit. It worked but I wasn't scared until they started hanging around the house, but then you started staying when Conor was away and I was OK. We'd reported it and I didn't really know for sure it was them until we saw the boys running off that day; then it all moved so fast, the next thing I knew we were at Raelene's and then the accident… " Anna could feel her heart racing as she skimmed over the details that the man in front of her already knew.  
>"I thought things had settled after that. I really did Josh. When I was with you that afternoon down at the pier…I thought it was over."<br>Anna reached for Josh's hands again, Josh taking hers firmly in his rubbing his thumb lightly over the back of her hands urging her to continue.  
>"I didn't know anything else until the hospital the morning after the bombing. I don't remember much of the actual day; just the explosion and you carrying me out" she admitted, closing her eyes briefly as she took a deep breath, opening them again to emphasise her next point.<br>"Everything that happened that day was real Josh. It wasn't until I was at the hospital, the following day. Conor and I had had a fight and two of the guys from Witness protection came in while you were all out at a job." Anna didn't have the heart to tell Josh what her and Conor had fought about on that eventful morning. She knew that letting Josh know that she had been planning on leaving her husband to pursue a relationship with Josh would probably have crushed him now, rather than offer him comfort.  
>"The men from Witness, they had intelligence to suggest that the Emery's were involved in the bombings. That first bomb was never meant to kill anyone or take down the building; it was put in place to get TR to go in as part of the rescue operations."<br>Josh felt his heart drop as the truth of that day was finally revealed to him. To hear that Grace had been such a big target to the family that they were happy to potentially kill hundreds of people was a real threat and finally gave him some idea of just what the Emery's were capable of, and what Anna may have been through in the past 3 years.  
>"They wanted me dead and they didn't care who they took out in the process. I wasn't supposed to survive that second blast Josh. Anyway once I found this out Witness protection wanted me to relocate right away. I didn't want to Josh. I wanted to talk to you first. I knew I'd probably have to go but I wanted to explain… at least let you know I was OK. I never…never wanted to hurt or lie to you Josh."<br>The panic in Annas voice was evident as she tried to express just how much she hadn't wanted to hurt the man in front of her. She felt her heart pick up again and her breathing become shorter and more desperate.  
>"I should have gone straight away. They got to me first…well they tried to. There were cops outside…but they got into my room…I don't know how; they were young constables; I don't think they knew how serious it was...but they got in…. I was asleep and I woke up to them standing over me about to inject a syringe into my IV. I was so lucky one of the officers had been keeping half an eye on things because he was in as soon as I screamed." Anna rushed through the finer details, not wanting to think about it herself and not wanting Josh to process how close she'd come to really being killed that day.<br>"It was out of my hands after that. The next thing I knew I was playing dead with a bunch of detectives trying to revive me..and then I ended up somewhere in South Australia with nothing."  
>Anna was shaking by the time she'd finished her story, more concerned about how Josh would react to everything that had happened than anything else.<br>"I'm so sorry." She whispered, looking away avoiding looking at him. "I never wanted you to suffer."  
>He shook his head and pulled her petite frame over so that she met him in the middle of the bed. "None of this is your fault Gracie. None of it."<br>"No but I hurt you. I know I did." She moved back again slightly creating some distance between them, blinking back her tears.  
>"It doesn't matter now Grace. You're alive…you're OK. That's the best news I could ever have hoped to receive."<br>She nodded as he sat back up going to get her a drink of water, watching him closely as he retrieved it and delivered it to her. "Thanks." Taking a sip, she sat up on the bed, leaning back against the pillows.  
>"So what happened…you said South Australia. How did you end up back here."<br>Grace couldn't hide the range of emotion in her eyes, setting the glass down on the bedside table and pulling her knees up closer to her in an effort to get warm, and hide the tremors she was feeling. She didn't speak for a moment, distracting herself with tracing the patterns on the bedspread. "It's a really long story Josh. And I'm really tired."  
>He nodded, sitting back beside her agreeing not to push her for more pieces of the puzzle that night. "Ok. How about we get some sleep? I meant what I said before…you should stay here."<br>She let out a breath when he uncharacteristically backed down and nodded. "That'd be good." She took his hand in hers again going to say something but thinking the better of it, slipping under the covers instead. "You ah..better get the lights." She grinned. "You're the last one up."  
>Laughing her stood up to switch the lights off.<br>"Josh?"  
>"Yeah?"<br>"Check the door again? Please?"  
>He nodded checking the locks again as Anna got comfortable. "They'd have to get through me first Gracie."<br>"If you think I find that reassuring…" she protested with a sly smile.  
>"I'd hope so."<br>She sighed getting more serious. "You're right I feel safer around you. But you're not taking a bullet for me." She shook her head deciding against continuing. "We're not even having this conversation ok. Just get into bed."  
>He smiled at her, flicking the light off getting in beside her, waiting a moment before pulling her closer to him and resting his hand on her hip.<br>"You still smell like Gracie."  
>"Goodnight Josh." She replied rolling her eyes but smiling at him in the dark, reaching under his shirt, leaving her cool hands on the warmth of his chest.<br>He laughed but didn't move them. "Night Grace."  
>Josh waited another 5minutes in silence before speaking again. "Gracie?" he whispered her breathing so calm and rhythmic that he wasn't sure if she was still awake.<br>"Mmm?"  
>"I told you I loved ya."<br>"Mmmm what?" she moved closer to him, finally starting to relax, her body willingly falling into the first fearless night's sleep she'd had since she'd left Melbourne 3 years prior.  
>"You said you didn't remember much. That day…the bombing. After we got you out…." he replied pulling her even closer to him so that she was caught fully in his embrace. "Just get some sleep ok? You're safe here." He gave up, reaching out and gently tucking the few strands of hair that had fallen over her eyes behind her left ear.<br>Her eyes opened slowly looking straight into his. "I know. I said it back right?" She moved her hand from his chest up to rest lightly on his cheek. "After I saw you at the hospital..before I knew any of the details…before I knew anything else, I spoke to Conor." She finally admitted. Reaching out she traced down his cheekbone with a single finger, stopping just below his lower lip. "I told him I was in love with you. I told him I wanted a divorce. I told him that I wanted to be with you. If only things were different…" she whispered.  
>Josh stopped her, shocked at the revelation and desperately wanting to hear her out but seeing the tears start to well up in her eyes again and thinking the better of it. "It's not your fault. Just get some sleep tonight. Just rest. You're exhausted."<br>She nodded unable to hold back a yawn. "I am."  
>He pulled her even closer again. "Nothing's going to happen to you tonight. Go to sleep Gracie."<br>Anna nodded closing her eyes, taking comfort in the warmth and strength of Josh's embrace, drifting off quickly.


	7. Chapter 7

**My apologies; this is relatively short but I wanted to post something tonight and I might be a bit slow to get the next bit up as I'm still not entirely happy with it and keep changing it. I hope you enjoy this all the same...and that you all have a lovely weekend.**

**A huge thank you to those who have given me feedback. It's been a long time between fics for me so I appreciate every word.  
><strong>

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><p><strong>3 hours later<strong>

"Josh." Anna mumbled half asleep, her left arm reaching over to shake him awake. "Josh?"  
>Snapping herself out of it Anna sat up quickly as she realised what it was that had disturbed her slumber. Reaching over with her second hand she shook Josh harder. "Josh wake up!" she told him firmly, coughing as she got a stronger whiff of the smoke in the room. "WAKE UP!" she yelled, pushing him hard enough to disturb his slumber.<br>Josh snapped his eyes open at her panic. "What? What's wrong?" he asked quickly reaching out for her protectively still not fully awake.  
>"There's a fire. I can smell the smoke. We need to get people out of here" she instructed, pushing him off her and jumping out of bed quickly, pulling Josh's jacket back on top of the singlet she was wearing at the same time as assessing her surroundings.<p>

As if on autopilot Anna instructed Josh to evacuate the rooms to the left as she took off down the right of the corridor knocking on the other patrons doors to alert them to the threat that was in the building, feeling all her years of training and experience in tactical response flood back to her as she worked quickly and methodically alongside her former colleague.

As she evacuated her end of the building she noticed the smoke was billowing out from under the door of the room 3 doors down from Josh's; the room which had been assigned to her originally. Having alerted all other patrons she mentally noted but left it and rushed back down the old pubs corridor down to Josh. "Did you get everyone?" she asked frantically, coughing again as the smoke got thicker.  
>He nodded and slipped an arm around her shoulder "Are you ok?"<br>She nodded jumping slightly as there was a small explosion as part of the foundations in the room down the hall collapsed. "Come on. We have to get out now," she told him, grabbing him by the hand and quickly running down the stairs.  
>The fire brigade had already arrived and passed them on the stairs as they got to the bottom, Anna pulling Josh clear of the building so that they were standing far enough away from the evacuees to talk.<br>"You sure you're ok?" he double-checked, resting both hands on her shoulders, facing her square on.  
>"Yep" she nodded, her gaze turning back to the building ablaze in front of her as she realised he too had escaped unharmed, silently assessing the situation now that they were away from its immediate danger.<br>"Was that your room?" Josh asked, wanting to confirm his suspicions. She nodded her response, still watching closely, looking around at the other patrons. "C'mon" he instructed, taking her hand and tugging on it gently, leading her over to where Lawson and Michael stood.  
>"This wasn't an accident," Josh informed them both, keeping one arm around Annas' waist. "That's Anna's room and something blew while we were in there, I'm guessing an accelerant."<br>"I smelt petrol" Anna confirmed quickly.  
>"You're both alright?" Lawson checked with Josh, not bothering to address the question to Anna who was still looking around studying the scene in front of her.<br>Josh nodded "Yeah, she was in with me. Thank God."  
>Anna shook Josh's arm off her, her brain ticking over as she tried to read the situation. "Something's not right…this is too easy" she observed out loud to the three of them. "This…it's not how they operate" she added, starting to pace back and forward. "We need to move people back…a couple of blocks" She instructed, her mind racing, keeping it together as the incident played out, a contrast to the emotional wreck she had been when they first came across her.<br>"Anna we're a fair way back already" Lawson protested, him and Michael already having ensured that the crowd were far enough away from any falling debris.  
>Anna shook her head dismissing his argument starting to yell at people to get back, telling them to go to a park a few hundred metres further down the road.<br>Michael looked at Lawson unsure of whether or not to follow. "She's lost it, right?" he asked Josh who just snarled. "Just do it Muppet. She knows these people." He ordered, breaking away to start yelling at people to clear an area around the pub.

The patrons had got barely 200m from the pub car park in which they'd been gathered in when a loud explosion rocked the area as 4 of the cars in the car park exploded simultaneously, the area that all the patrons had been in just 5 minutes previous rapidly being engulfed by a rapid fireball which died off as quickly as it had gone up.

At the blast Anna stopped dead where she was, fixated on the flames unable to hide the fear from her expression. Taking a second to snap out of it, Anna looked over to check that Josh was alright and still on his feet before she continued herding the now somewhat hysterical patrons away.  
>Once they reached the park Lawson pulled Josh aside as Anna began to triage, assessing the patrons of the pub for any signs of injuries as they waited for the paramedics to arrive. "Is she alright?"<br>Josh shrugged. "Honestly...I dunno. She's been through more than she's letting on and I don't think this helps her situation. Her covers definitely been blown; she was supposed to be relocated tonight but she's a bit freaked out and postponed it. I think she just wanted to be around people she could trust even if it was just for one night.." He kept an eye on her closely, watching her move around the park checking to make sure that everyone else was alright and not injured.  
>"She's OK," he decided. "I know she wasn't expecting anything so soon. There's no way she would have asked to stay with us if she thought something was going to happen tonight. But she's alright, somewhere deep inside her there's still a copper. She went straight into action tonight Lawson. She got everyone out of there. I don't think she ever moved that quickly even on the job."<br>Lawson nodded. "She's gonna need somewhere to stay until she can be relocated."  
>"I'll organise that" Josh replied firmly.<br>"We can help" Lawson offered.  
>Josh shook his head. "No I'll organise something. The less people that know the better!" he insisted.<br>Anna walked back over. "He's right Lawson" coming in on the trail end of their conversation. "And you two need to keep your voices down!" she added lowering her voice to a whisper. "You got a sec?" she checked with Josh, stepping aside with him.  
>"I know somewhere for tonight. You boys can come too if you want too; it looks like you're targets until I disappear again. I'm so sorry Josh. They'd have known you staying at the pub as well, they would have sussed this all out by now."<br>"You just called them, didn't you?" he checked, having seen her make a call and assuming that it was to her case manager in the Witness Protection program.  
>Anna nodded. "I had too. This is getting out of control."<br>"When?"  
>"I honestly don't know. Probably tomorrow sometime at a guess."<br>Josh didn't look at all comfortable with the idea. "I wanna come with ya!" he argued.  
>Anna shook her head again firmly. "No Josh. You can't!"<br>He didn't look happy about it but he nodded not willing to argue with her, especially given the situation around them. "Promise me you'll say goodbye this time?" he asked, struggling to deal with the thought of her just disappearing again.  
>She nodded, reaching out to touch his cheek. "I promise."<br>Josh reached out for her properly, pulling her into his arms. "You should get looked at by the ambos. You got a lot of smoke."  
>She shook her head "I'm ok. I don't want to make a fuss" she whispered allowing herself a few precious seconds in his embrace before stepping back, her fingertips brushing against his upper arm as they separated. "Are you ready to leave?"<br>He nodded going back to Lawson filling him in quietly. "Anna and I will go first. We'll meet you and Michael opposite at the church about 500m down the road in 15 minutes. Silver falcon."


	8. Chapter 8

**This is even shorter than the last chapter and I apologise, it is just filler and I'm not even convinced it's particually good filler. The next is significantly longer; I'm just being precious and can't stop changing it.**

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><p>Lawson nodded, letting Anna and Josh have a 5minute head start before heading down in an opposite direction. Anna was behind the wheel, unlocking the doors to let them in when they arrived, locking the doors again quickly behind them. Using the anti-surveillance techniques she'd been trained in so long ago, she took off, carefully planning her route to shake off any potential tails that may be on them, breathing a sigh of relief when she got on the straight road out of town 20minutes later without any signs of any other cars.<p>

"Where the hell are we going?" Michael finally asked.  
>"Farm stay" was all she replied, pulling up at an old woolshed right off the main road another 20minutes later. The old building had a few old squeaky beds in it as well as a bunch of broken down rusted machinery. Digging around in the trash Anna managed to locate some blankets, candles, matches, canned food and other supplies.<br>"You're kidding" Michael exclaimed amazed at what she managed to procure. "Lucky find."  
>Lawson rolled his eyes at Michael "You really are an idiot aren't you."<br>Anna laughed, explaining. "It's called being prepared Michael. Or Plan B. Except Plan B didn't really include having 3 others with me; so we're a bit light on the supplies front" she apologised.  
>Lighting a candle first, Anna tossed one blanket at Lawson and the other at Josh. "I'm really sorry…" she apologised to Michael. "You might have to share."<br>"It's fine," Josh shook his head answering for him, wrapping the blanket in his arms around Annas shoulders.  
>After 10minutes of setting things up Michael stopped work turning to them all, clearly annoyed at the way his night was developing. "Alright. So now do we find out what the hell is going on? Because I'm not sure why I'm freezing my arse off out in the middle of nowhere after nearly getting blasted to pieces with someone who's supposed to be dead."<br>Anna froze, turning slowly from what she was doing to face him. "It's complicated."  
>"No shit Grace."<br>"It's Anna."  
>Michael rolled his eyes. "Whatever. Clearly they know who you are so what's the point of even keeping up the disguise?"<br>Josh turned to intervene grabbing him by the shoulders shoving him against the woolsheds wall. "Listen here you little Muppet! You don't need to know what's going on here. It's better that you don't. You shut the hell up and stop giving her crap or I swear to God you'll rue the day you were born!" Holding him there Josh stared him down with rage in his eyes, daring him to speak.  
>"Josh…let him go" Anna protested. "Michael, Josh is right. You're worse off if you know. I'm sorry. I'll be gone soon. Josh. Put him down!" she added again.<br>Josh reluctantly let him go, unable to resist giving him one final shove away from where Anna stood before moving back to her side protectively, the brunette still one of the few people that could talk him down when he was worked up. Michael just grunted, going to set up camp for himself on one of the beds on the other side of the woolshed.  
>Anna shook her head at Josh as he came back over "I know you're angry but it's not his fault" she reasoned. "You'd be the same if it were anyone else and you were being kept in the dark." She reached into one of the bags she'd hidden and passed him a handgun.<br>"What's this for?" he checked.  
>"Just in case…" she whispered. "I had mine on me."<br>"In bed?"  
>She raised her eyebrows and nodded. "Always. Look...it's the last thing I feel like doing, but we need to get some sleep." She announced to both Josh and Lawson.<br>"Is that wise?" Lawson checked.  
>Anna nodded. "We'll be ok out here. No one knows about it. I sussed the place out months ago. There's nothing tracing me to it…"<br>Josh didn't look so sure but nodded.  
>"Here, we can share" she offered him the blanket. "You must be freezing. I at least have your jacket."<br>He nodded, moving to one of the old springy beds in the semi-converted woolshed, Anna lying down beside him putting the blanket over the two of them. Josh pulled her into him, tucking the blanket around her properly, keeping her close at the same time. "Go to sleep" he told her softly. "I'll keep watch, you try and sleep."  
>"You're kidding right? What I said to Lawson…it's not going to happen. I won't be sleeping."<br>"Go on…just try."  
>Anna was right. Neither of them got much sleep that night, both stirring at the slightest sound, with both their minds too busy ticking over with the events of the night they'd already endured.<p>

By 5am Anna had well and truly given up, sitting up, the springs creaking and the base shifting uncomfortably between them.  
>"Thanks for that" Josh groaned, stretching out groaning even more as he did.<br>"Sorry" she whispered planting a soft, gentle kiss on his forehead. "Thought you weren't going to sleep?" she smiled.  
>"Half an hour doze isn't sleep. Besides I knew you were awake... You certainly didn't hide it, pretty sure you were kicking me deliberately it happened that many times."<br>"Sook" she smiled. "I have to pee. I'll be back in a sec." She announced getting out from under the blanket. "Brrr" she shivered. "It's freezing" creeping outside to find a spot to go to the bathroom.  
>When she didn't return after 10minutes Josh started to get worried. Getting up himself he wandered out of the woolshed to check on her. "Anna?" he called when he couldn't see her. "Gracie?" he tried when he didn't get a response. Calling out again, this time a bit louder he went a little way into the bush, searching frantically for 15minutes he went back to the woolshed.<br>"LAWSON" he ran back inside. "Lawson mate, we have a problem. Anna's in trouble."


	9. Chapter 9

"Josh, you said it yourself. She was going back into protection. You saw her making the call last night. She probably had the pick-up arranged. You know they have to make it convincing." Lawson reasoned sitting up slowly, somehow having managed to sleep during the night. "We can make some calls but the aim of the program is for you not to be able to find her so they're not likely to give anything up to you."  
>"Lawson, she hasn't gone into custody. She's in trouble. Trust me, she wouldn't have left without saying goodbye… She went outside for a pee Lawson. She'd only just got up. She's in trouble." He argued. "For God's sake Lawson we're wasting time. I know Grace OK. She hasn't changed that much. She made a promise only last night. She's still good for her word Lawson which means she's out here somewhere and we need to find her."<br>Lawson nodded, convinced, waking Michael quickly. "What now?" he groaned rolling over for the first time, not having stirred at the commotion of Josh rushing back into the shed.  
>"Grace has gone. Get up."<p>

* * *

><p><strong>One hour later<strong>

"No, I don't want to get stung...keep me away from the penguin." Anna started to mumble incoherently, trying to move her arms to bat out at the air in front of her face. She let out a groan when they stayed beside her, as heavy as lead, managing at best a flick of the wrist, struggling with it for a moment before getting distracted again. "I'm gonna vomit" she realised, barely managing to turn her head to the side, feeling the burn of the mushroom sauce she'd had on her steak at the pub the night before as it rushed back up, dripping down her chin and onto the collar of Josh's jacket.  
>"She's waking up" Chris Emery noted, cringing at the unmistakable sound of emesis.<br>"She's not going anywhere" Chris's brother Brett reassured, gesturing to the restraints around her ankles. "You better tie her arms down too. She probably scratches like the pussy she is."  
>"Meow" she giggled from the corner of the old shed, coughing slightly on the vomit which remained in her mouth, letting out another groan.<br>Chris went over, grabbing some more rope and tying her arms down, kicking her firmly in the ribs as she giggled again. She stopped giggling but barely winced, the ketamine in her system combined with the strong sedative preventing her from feeling the pain associated with the force. "Don't be mean," she pouted.  
>"SHUT up you fucking mole!" he yelled at her, kicking her again harder, this time in the head.<br>This time she did shut up. Her eyes rolling back into her head as she passed out again.  
>"Good work" Brett laughed, taking a photo on his phone and sending the simple picture message.<br>_"This is it Mum. We got her."  
><em>  
>* * *<p>

Josh had never been so frantic in his life. Despite clearly struggling to even think he was trying to make a thousand different decisions at once, trying to second guess the Emery's, where they would be, what they would be planning.  
>"I hate to say it Josh" Lawson started after 3 hours of driving around nearby properties. "But if this is the Emerys again…they've probably already killed her" he spoke softly, watching the long country road in front of him not wanting to face his best mate and watch him absorb the possibility that the woman he'd only just found again might be dead.<br>To Lawsons surprise Josh shook his head without hesitating or striking out. "No, she's not.… You've seen her Lawson. She's traumatised. She's had to relocate 2 or 3 times with this program, which means they've tracked her down that many times.. heck they even managed to track her down last night. If they just wanted to kill her Lawson they would have hired someone or just taken a shot at her while she hung out her washing or something. She hasn't said that much, she didn't want to talk about it, but it's pretty obvious they'd rather make her squirm…torture her. They'll be playing with her. They'll want to drag it out. They haven't killed her yet Lawson… We need to find her before they do."  
>Lawson couldn't believe the man beside him had managed to analyse this much about the targets in the state that he was in. Josh's tendency to act first and think later was notorious within the TR ranks but at this moment Lawson could see how agitated Josh was, yet he was able to profile the targets and stay calm. "I hope you're right" he replied.<br>This time Josh hesitated in response. "Me too…" he replied.

**Four hours later**

"Josh?" Anna opened her eyes, to a figure leaning over her, a weight pressing against her aching chest. "Move over, Get off me!" she protested trying to push him off her, her head spinning when she heard a laugh that didn't belong to the person she thought it was.  
>"She thinks I'm that other cop" Brett Emery laughed as he straddled her around the hips, leaning forward to press even more of his weight onto her already crushed chest. Anna let out a squeal of pain as she got her bearings.<br>"Get off me" she squealed trying to get him off her, realising very quickly that she was pinned to the ground beneath him.  
>"And deny myself a beautiful lady who's just begging for it?" he laughed reaching forward to stroke her cheek."<br>She groaned as the pressure increased on her chest, gritting her teeth as she tried not to pass out from the pain. "You touch me and Josh will kill you" she winced.  
>"Ahhh you see, that's the best part of it all.. your pig friends, they all think you've just disappeared again. That's the problem with all this relocating bullshit Grace… after a while your friends get so sick of you lying to them and disappearing without notice that they piss off back to Melbourne. By the time anyone realises that you're dead your friends will be retired from the pig squad. At least we know what you're up to…where you've been hiding…where you'll be buried. We always know."<br>Chris laughed walking over to join his brother, tightening the restraints on her arms now that she had regained consciousness, as Brett loosened her legs, spreading them further apart running a hand up Graces inner thigh letting his fingers run over the sensitive skin there, both boys laughing as they saw the panic flood Annas eyes as she began to squirm.  
>"Please…don't. Not again." she whimpered, her strong resolve starting to crack as the fear took over.<br>Chris nodded at Brett as both boys leant in closer, Brett biting down hard on her thigh at the same time as Chris who left an identical set of teeth marks on her forehead. "Just the start of things to come" Chris teased as they both stood up. "It wouldn't be right without the batteries that dickhead here forgot….need a copy for our home movie collection." He grinned again "Mum would be devastated if she missed this episode" he added grabbing his keys.  
>Anna let out a sob as she realised she'd been brought some time, but kept very still, trying to calm herself down and not draw any more violence from the brothers, wincing as she took a deep breath.<p>

Anna heard the 4wd drive away moments later but stayed where she was paralysed in fear for about 15minutes, waiting for one of the boys to reappear at her slightest movement. Realising that they were planning on killing her regardless of whether she tried anything Anna decided that if she didn't take her chance now they would be back before she could, pulling against the ropes on her arms, wincing as her left arm throbbed in pain at the slightest movement. Biting down hard on her lip she tried again, frustrated as the ropes didn't budge.  
>It was only when she subconsciously moved her legs back together to put some pressure on the stinging bite mark that Anna realised that the ropes around her legs were still tied loosely. With a couple of good kicks she managed to pull them free from her legs and with renewed enthusiasm pulled hard with her good arm against the rope holding it down. Groaning in frustration as she felt the restraint tighten she turned her head to the left in desperation, spotting a sharp edge on the edge of the shed wall. Screaming at her first movement she moved her arm to position the rope against the edge. Gritting her teeth firmly she forced herself to be quiet and ignore the pain, slowly sawing at the rope. As soon as her arm was free she sat up, quickly picking the knot on the other side, her legs almost buckling under her as she stood up too quickly. Taking a millisecond to steady herself before the adrenaline took over, Anna Travers discovering that deep down she did still have some fight left in her as she took off.<p>

Anna had been running for 40minutes straight without stopping or even looking behind her when she hit the main road. As the adrenaline petered out and she came to a standstill the pain started to re-register. She finally took a moment to catch her breath, the throbbing in her head and the dizziness she felt reminding her of heavy hits to the head she had taken and she groaned slightly in pain, moving her hand to her eyes to rub them, her eyes blurry, only then realising that it was blood sticking her lashes together and obscuring her vision. Licking her lips she realised just how thirsty she was, but a quick look around at her surroundings assured her that her dehydration was not going to be relieved anytime soon and that she needed to move back off the road in case the Emerys' had discovered she was gone and were out looking for her. She moved back off the road into the slight cover of the trees, not wanting to be visible but at the same time knowing she needed to stick to the road if she wanted to make it back into town.


	10. Chapter 10

**Six hours later**

An exhausted Anna had long since stopped running, and was now alternating between a walk and short bursts of fear fuelled jogs. Having lost track of how long she had been running for Anna had never been more relieved in her life to spot an old farmhouse 500m down the road from her current position. Letting her guard down and using the last skerrick of energy she had left she moved onto the slightly more stable surface of the road and forced herself to run as fast as she could to get off the visible terrain.  
>Banging desperately on the front door she could hardly hide her relief when a lady in her mid-sixties opened it. The woman looked back at her in shock, the young woman in front of her now leaning against the frame of the door her hair and forehead covered in dried blood, her eyes sunken back into her skull.<br>"Please, Can I use your phone?" Anna begged without hesitating.  
>"Keith." The woman yelled for her husband. "Keith come here" she yelled again, moving forward to offer Anna the physical support needed to keep herself upright.<br>"I'm ok" Anna protested weakly, holding out until Keith reached the door, allowing herself to lean against him, cringing in pain as his arm bumped against her chest, letting him lead her into the house.  
>"I'll call an ambulance sweetheart" the wife assured her, already moving towards the lounge room.<br>Anna shook her head "Please, I need to call my friend first….I'm lost" she insisted hazily as Keith helped her onto the lounge, Anna gratefully taking the phone off Sarah and punching Josh's mobile number into the phone.  
>Still driving Josh took the call. "Hello?"<br>"Josh? Josh it's me. They found me! I got away. I don't know where I am…" she trailed off as she realised that she had no idea where she was, feeling her head start to spin again.  
>"Anna? GRACE? Where are you? What phone are you calling on? Are you OK? Are you hurt? Do you need an ambulance?"<br>"Mmmm" she mumbled, all the questions being a bit too much, passing the phone back to Sarah in a daze.  
>"Gracie don't hang up. Keep talking to me. Don't hang up Leon'll trace the number for us. "<br>"She hasn't. I'm Sarah and your friend, she's at our house. Poor thing's just stumbled in. I wanted to call an ambulance but she insisted on calling you first."  
>"That's ok Sarah. I'm Sergeant Joshua and I'm part of the Victorian Police. Anna, the woman with you, we've been looking for her for a few days. Is she alright?"<br>"Oh thank goodness you're the police. Are you very far away? She's not in a good way. Keith's just gone out the back to call an ambulance on his mobile. She's bleeding and I think she's broken some bones…her arms sticking out funny..." the stress of the sudden arrival getting to Sarah, talking very quickly, relieved that the police were already involved in the scene unfolding in front of her.  
>"Where are you located Sarah? We're just coming into Cohuna at the moment. Are you near Cohuna?"<br>"We're about 30minutes out of town" she gave him their address. Josh slamming the hand break on and turning around erratically. "We'll be there in 15minutes. I'm going to put you onto my colleague now. He's going to run you through some basic first aid." Josh tossed the phone at Lawson putting all his efforts into driving to the small property as quickly as possible.

13minutes later when they pulled up there was already a ute out the front. Josh was out of the vehicle in an instant, heading towards the house when Lawson called his name.  
>"Josh. Slow down." Calling him over to the back of the ute, showing him the blood on the tail gate. "That's blood…it could be the Emerys truck. We should wait for backup"<br>Josh shook his head at him incredulously. "I'm not waiting. You heard Sarah, She's not good Lawson! I'm not stuffing around waiting for bloody Hicksville backup while she's in there hurt!"  
>Lawson nodded drawing his weapon. "Just…be cautious. If they are in there and if she's still… if they've got weapons they're probably not going to hesitate Josh."<br>"Yep." He acknowledged, drawing his on gun and approaching the house.  
>The front door was wide open and the boys crept through to the lounge room. Josh putting his finger to his lips to gesture to Sarah to keep quiet as he caught her eye, the husband and wife clutching each other for dear life, huddled in the corner while Anna remained seated on the lounge, Brett holding the gun right to her head, Anna maintaining eye contact with him, not even blinking.<br>"Just do it" She whispered, weak and defeated. "I'm tired of running." She kept her eyes locked on his. "TR are on their way. They ARE coming and I guarantee you that sergeant Joshua is going to make you and every single member of your family pay for this. He's not going to give up you know… "  
>There was a click as he flicked the safety off. Anna's eyes finally shifting from his to the door where she saw Lawson in her peripheral vision. Seeing Bretts' focus shift briefly as her eyes moved from his Anna took her chance, moving her leg up to kick him as hard as she could in the testicles. Yelling in pain he pressed the trigger on the gun reactively, Sarah screaming as the bullet was launched, before Brett fell back dropping the gun as he clenched at his most private part, swearing at the top of his lungs like a man in agony. Josh and Lawson seized the opportunity, Lawson moving to Chris who now had his back to Sarah and Keith, his gun dropped slightly as he stared dumbstruck at his brother withering on the ground. Lawson quickly grabbed his weapon from him and restrained him as Anna used her last strength to secure Bretts weapon, sinking backwards against the base of the lounge, clutching her arm. Josh moved to cuff him, moving him well out of the way, leaving him with Lawson &amp; Chris before going back to Anna who was now even paler than before.<br>"Thanks mate" she whispered as Josh crouched down in front of her, her right arm clutching her left bicep where the bullet had torn through seconds earlier.  
>"We've got 'em Gracie. The ambulance is on it's way, just a few more minutes" he promised, moving his hand over hers to take over the first aid. Annas good hand fell limply down at her side at the relief, her body following the lead of her arm, her eyes closing as she blacked out as the last 48 hours' worth of torture finally won out.<p>

* * *

><p><strong>The following day<strong>

Anna's eyes flickered open slowly, letting out a soft moan as she discovered that her entire body ached. As her eyes slowly focused in on her surroundings she saw a familiar head resting on the bed just beside her hand, which was embraced tightly by the owner of said head. Opening her mouth to try and speak her voice faltered slightly, only making a raspy sound, frustrated she tried again managing this time to get the word she was after out.  
>"Josh" she croaked. His name was barely recognisable but the sound made him sit up quickly, turning to look at her.<br>She forced a smile squeezing his hand back gently. "You need a shave," she murmured.  
>He laughed a little leaning closer to her brushing her hair out of her eyes and kissing her lightly on her cheek. "You wake up after a 14 hour sleep and that's the first thing you can think of to say?" Leaving his thumb resting on her cheek he perched on the edge of her bed. "You OK?" he checked.<br>She nodded. "A bit sore..but I might just live" she whispered.  
>He stroked her cheek tenderly, taking her hand again with his free hand. "You had me…all of us, a bit worried for a while there" he whispered back, tears welling in his eyes in a rare display of emotion.<br>At the sight of Josh's watery eyes Anna felt herself tearing up, unable to hold back a whimper. "Me too" she admitted, using her good arm to push herself into a seated position.  
>"Hey, take it easy. Don't do too much at once" Josh fussed, putting his hand on her back to support her as he propped pillows up behind her.<br>As he moved to sit back she grabbed his arm pulling him closer and wrapping her thin arms around him tightly. That was all the encouragement Josh needed and he pulled her into his embrace being careful not to aggravate any of her injuries but holding her firmly enough to offer his reassurance and love to the pale brunette.  
>"Grace?"<br>"I'm ok" her whispered muffled as she spoke into his neck.  
>"I'm coming with you. Wherever you go… I don't care. I love ya Gracie. I just want to be with you…whatever you're called…whatever I'm called.. even if I have to wear a hideous wig or dye my hair red, wherever you are… I just want to be with you" he replied his voice as soft as hers so that no passer-by could hear them.<br>She pulled back from the hug a little but enough so that she could see his face. "I..I love you too Josh. But it's a big call. TR, Lawson, you're life in Melbourne…you'll be leaving it all behind. You need to think this through... 6 months time if things don't work out, when you start to get bored and you'll start to resent me!"  
>He shook his head. "I've thought this through Gracie. It's all I've been thinking about since we pulled you out of that car. I lost you once…I'm not loosing you again. Please?"<br>That was all it took to push Anna over the edge, the tears flowing down her cheeks like raindrops on a window, her tiny frame shaking with her sobs.  
>Josh pulled her back into his embrace, rubbing her back gently. "You know, this is becoming a habit. The last time I told a girl I loved her she collapsed on me, now she's bawling" he teased gently, pressing his lips to her neck soothingly.<br>"Shut up" she protested taking a deep breath to compose herself, pausing after the inhalation and grimacing. "Ow" she complained as she discovered the sharp pain in her broken ribs. "That was your fault." She protested, resting her head on his shoulder."  
>"Then say yes" he pushed gently, refusing to let her change the subject this time.<br>She nodded her head in the affirmative into his shoulder. "OK. Alright. I'm not going to stop you if you're sure it's what you want. You can come with me…you're not turning Ranga on me though" she added as an afterthought.  
>For the first time in four days Josh grinned pulling the woman in front of him even closer; The now former sergeant knew the road ahead would not be smooth but for now he was content just to hold the one person whom he'd always loved but thought he'd lost tightly in his arms offering her the support he knew she would need over the months ahead.<br>Now that he knew she wasn't going to disappear from his life so suddenly, the kiss he so desperately wanted to plant on her lips could wait until the woman he'd always loved felt more up to it.

Fin.

**Well what did you think? I did have a sequel in mind but that was several months ago and I'm not sure that I can pick it up again. I have a couple of other stories in mind but I'm not sure whether people still want to read Josh & Grace fic..**


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